strikethrough.text

Pages · Keynote · Numbers on Windows and Mac

Strikethrough in Pages, Keynote and Numbers plus a shortcut

Apple’s office apps have strikethrough in the Format menu but no keyboard shortcut. Here’s where it is, and how to add a shortcut in a minute.

Mac menuFormat→Font→Strikethrough
Custom shortcut⌘+Shift+XAfter adding it in System Settings → Keyboard → App Shortcuts
iPhone · iPadPaintbrush→Text→S̶

Updated · strikethroughtext.online

On a Mac

The steps are the same in all three apps:

  1. Select the text. In Numbers, you can select whole cells or click into a cell and select part of its text.
  2. Choose Format → Font → Strikethrough from the menu bar.
  3. Choose it again to remove the line.

You’ll also find it in the Format sidebar. Open the Text (or Style) tab, go to the Font section and click the gear button for more font options, where strikethrough sits with the other text effects.

Add a keyboard shortcut

macOS can give any menu command a shortcut. One setup covers all three apps if you add it to each:

  1. Open System Settings → Keyboard and click Keyboard Shortcuts.
  2. Choose App Shortcuts, then click +.
  3. Pick Pages from the Application menu.
  4. In Menu title, type Strikethrough exactly as it appears in the Format menu.
  5. Click the shortcut field and press ⌘ + Shift + X.
  6. Click Done, then repeat for Keynote and Numbers.

⌘ + Shift + X is the strikethrough shortcut in Word, Google Docs and most other Mac apps, so your fingers only have to learn one. The Mac shortcut guide lists the rest.

On iPhone and iPad

  1. Select the text.
  2. Tap the paintbrush button at the top of the screen.
  3. On the Text tab, tap the strikethrough button beside bold, italic and underline.

With a keyboard attached to an iPad, the Mac shortcut you added doesn’t carry over. Use the paintbrush menu.

Keynote: crossing out on a slide

Strikethrough formatting can’t be animated, but you can fake a live cross-out:

  1. Draw a line over the word with the Shape button, holding Shift to keep it straight.
  2. In the Animate sidebar, add a Wipe build-in from the left.
  3. Add the replacement word as a separate text box with a Dissolve build-in after it.

The line draws through the old word when you click, then the new one appears.

Numbers: strike finished rows automatically

Numbers can strike text for you with conditional highlighting:

  1. Select the cells to format.
  2. In the Format sidebar, open Cell → Conditional Highlighting and click Add a Rule.
  3. Pick a rule, for example Text → is and type Done, or a checkbox rule.
  4. Choose Custom Style and turn on strikethrough in the style options.

Now any cell that matches is crossed out, and clearing the value removes the line.

Copying it out of Apple’s apps

Strikethrough is formatting, so it pastes into Mail or Word but not into Messages, Instagram or a file name. Use the copy-paste version on this page for those. The line is part of the characters and goes wherever the text goes.

Copy-paste version

For the places where Pages · Keynote · Numbers formatting won't follow your text, like file names, chat apps or a social bio.

7 characters, 2 words
Ctrl + Enter copies the first result

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.

  • strikethroughD̶r̶a̶f̶t̶ ̶2̶
  • short strikeD̵r̵a̵f̵t̵ ̵2̵
  • wavy strikeD̴r̴a̴f̴t̴ ̴2̴
  • slashD̷r̷a̷f̷t̷ ̷2̷
  • long slashD̸r̸a̸f̸t̸ ̸2̸
  • double slashD̸̷r̸̷a̸̷f̸̷t̸̷ ̸̷2̸̷
  • strike + underlineD̶̲r̶̲a̶̲f̶̲t̶̲ ̶̲2̶̲
  • strike + overlineD̶̅r̶̅a̶̅f̶̅t̶̅ ̶̅2̶̅
  • underlineD̲r̲a̲f̲t̲ ̲2̲
  • double underlineD̳r̳a̳f̳t̳ ̳2̳
  • overlineD̅r̅a̅f̅t̅ ̅2̅
  • dottedD̤r̤a̤f̤t̤ ̤2̤
  • waveD̰r̰a̰f̰t̰ ̰2̰
  • x belowD͓r͓a͓f͓t͓ ͓2͓
  • redacted███████

Questions people ask

Is there a strikethrough shortcut in Pages?

Not by default. Add one in System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, App Shortcuts: choose Pages, type Strikethrough as the menu title, and press Command + Shift + X so it matches Word and Google Docs.

How do I strikethrough in Numbers?

Select the cells or the text inside a cell, then choose Format, Font, Strikethrough from the menu bar. The same App Shortcuts trick gives you a keyboard shortcut.

How do I strikethrough on an iPad in Pages?

Select the text, tap the paintbrush button, and on the Text tab tap the strikethrough button next to bold, italic and underline.

Does strikethrough survive exporting to Word or PDF?

Yes. Exporting to Word keeps it as Word strikethrough formatting, and a PDF shows it exactly as on screen.

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